by C. Litka
04
'Company, Chief!' ZesRe called out, poking his head into the engine room. 'Looks like the skipper has arrived.'
'Right. Be right up!' I called back, looking up through the catwalks and platforms. No time to change out of my dirty, oily jumpsuit, but what the Neb. Every stain a badge of my enthusiasm for my job. I wiped my oily, rust stained hands on some rags and grabbing my cap from my tiny office off the main platform, made my way through the ship to the gangplank. I arrived with plenty of time to spare - probably could've changed into my white uniform - since the new captain was taking her time looking over her first command, likely with a sinking heart.
Eventually the boat, piloted by RahJen, pulled up alongside the short gangplank and our captain swung herself out and onto the ramp, not waiting for it to be tied up. ZesRe was hanging back, so I stepped forward.
'Welcome aboard the Lora Lakes, Captain KimTara,' I said with a pleasant smile, extending my hand.
She ignored my hand and gave me a long, measuring look. 'Chief Engineer Wil Litang?'
'Aye,' I said, with my most pleasant smile, slowly dropping my arm.
'KimTara,' she said, and then stood silently as ZesRe slipped by and tied up the boat so RahJen could join us.
Captain KimTara proved to be a slim, tall, fine-feathered woman, dressed in a spotlessly turned out in the S&D's dress white uniform - black boots, loose, white trousers and a form fitting jacket with a standup collar. Collar and cuffs were trimmed with gold, with a gold epaulet on each shoulder. She would have been called lanky, if she didn't hold herself as stiff as an iron bar. Her brown hair was as short as a man's under her white officer's cap. Her eyes were icy blue, her expression, at least on seeing the state of her first command was equally as cold. She was youngish, more handsome than pretty, but beyond her appearance, she exhibited, at least on this first meeting, a disconcerting coldness. If the Lora Lakes had sunk my heart, her captain sent it plunging.
'Hello, Jen,' I said with a nod, when it became evident my introduction was at an end as far as she was concerned.
'Litang,' he said from behind her with a nod and a shrug.
'Shall we go aboard? I'll ask Ra to brew up a pot of tey for us...'
'That won't be necessary,' said Captain KimTara. 'I will inspect the ship.'
And that is we did, from stem to stern, missing not even a maintenance supply locker. She said nothing until she happened to question some damage to the port side no. 5 hold door. I swung myself around and walked up the door, having my magnetic spaceer boots on, to have a look and answer her question.
'How did you do that?' she asked as I swung back down to the mat covered deck. The metal decks below the usual tough fiber mats that provided traction for both human species in the Pela allowed me to largely dispense with the toe claws aboard ship, though I kept them on since I'd need them whenever I was ashore.
'Magnets in the soles of my boots. They're controlled by the movement of my feet. In my old service, we used plain metal decks aboard ship rather than fiber mats.'
Curiosity didn't seem to be one of her traits, so we moved on without further comment.
At the end of the tour she said, turning to me, 'RahJen says that you've been working up a report. Is it ready?'
'Aye, Captain. I have it in my office.'
She nodded, and I went to get it. As I said, it ran five pages, and she carefully read each page in without comment as RahJen, ZesRe, and I stood about in silence.
When she was done, she looked up and said, 'Do you have a sense of humor, Chief?'
'Ah...' I said, trying to make head or tails of that question. 'I believe I do.'
'Is this an example of it?'
Seeing the light, I replied, 'No, Captain. It is a complete report comparing company standards to the current state of the Lora Lakes. As you have noted, we are quite deficient in every category, from the current state of our power and motors systems, to spare parts for every mechanical and electric component of the ship. And while I recognize that no ship has everything up to standard, I felt that it would be helpful to list every deviation from standard, if only to emphasize the current unacceptable state of affairs aboard the Lora Lakes.'
'You find the Lora Lakes's engine room status unacceptable?'
'Yes, Captain, I do. I have highlighted a dozen key systems that are liable to fail without a complete overhaul, and given my lack of spare parts on hand, failures would require the Lora Lakes to be towed to port for repairs. Unless those deficiencies are remedied, I will not sail. There are two dozen other systems that I can predict will fail within the first 500 to 1000 rounds of operation. If I have replacements on hand, they could be repaired in passage. If not, we'd likely need a tow once again. In short, the Lora Lakes was apparently abandoned long before it was actually laid up. There's a price to be paid for such neglect and if they want to bring the Lora Lakes back into operation, it will have to be paid.'
'This is to protect your reputation should problems occur.'
'When problems occur. I'm sure you don't want to find yourself drifting in the clouds, radioing for a tug 50 leagues out of Tanjenree. It's your reputation more than mine, Captain.'
She folded the report in half and then said, 'I am going down to the main office on Vennora. In the meantime, Chief, please advise Mr. RahJen as to how large a crew you will need to get this ship looking like a proper S&D vessel. I have no intention of commanding anything less than a perfectly turned out ship.
'To start with, I want the entire vessel power-washed, inside and out. No nook or cranny overlooked. I will inspect this ship again when the work is completed and I expect my orders to be followed. When cleaning, do not spare the paint, as everything will be repainted. I want all the woodwork polished, and every dirty and worn floor mat replaced. Mr. RahJen, if we do not have enough paint and other supplies on hand, please requisition what we need from the Vennora warehouse. All the bedding, curtains, tablecloths will be replaced. You can use the old stuff for rags, Chief.
'This ship has been chartered. However, I have not been informed by whom, or the nature of our charter, but I am given to believe that it is a long term charter and that we will be sailing great distances. That being the case, every piece of machinery, every instrument needs to be reliable. We shall test how serious they are about putting the Lora Lakes back in commission.
'Have I made myself clear?'
'Aye, Captain. Power-wash the hull, holds, every cabin and locker aboard ship. Repaint everything, replace everything movable, and get it done in time to sail in 19 rounds.'
'Or less. I will see about your requirements. I expect to reach our destination under our own power,' she said, and turned her cold eyes to RahJen.
'I will do everything in my power, Captain. However, I believe much of what you are ordering will have to be approved down on Vennora. I trust you will take care of that at your end.'
She nodded. 'I will. The Lora Lakes is a perfectly good ship that was allowed to rot. Since they now seem to have a use for it, the company will need to repair the rot. Consider the optimum size of the crew you'll need to get the job done in ten rounds or less. Let RahJen know how many you'll need, so he can hire them and get the work started as soon as possible.'
'Right,' I said, with a sketchy salute as she turned to go.
ZesRe and I watched them leave.
'Jeez, Chief. She's a cold one. What a mate she must've been. She'd make most captains question their qualifications.'
'Well, she's a captain now. We should get along fine, as long as she knows that her place is on the bridge, not the engine room.'
'That'll be up to you, Chief.'
'Aye. Well, let's hope she knows her place.'
'Good luck with that... Won't be pleasant company around the dinner table, I'm guessing.'
'We'll see,' I said. She was, after all, my captain now. It was up to me to adjust. It was up to me to be loyal to her as well. 'There's nothing wrong with efficiency. I'll take that over a jov
ial incompetent.'
'There's a difference between efficiency and rigid rule-following, Chief. I'm not sure what you're getting.'
I glanced at him. 'I thought you were thinking of signing on again?'
'I'm still thinking about it, Chief,' he replied. 'Thinking hard.'
